"Connecting" to the music...

[J.Paul]

 

Hey JP, are you guys ever going to get back down to the island, or are those days over?

 

I'm not sure Tim, some of it depends on how the single (or the next one) does.

Mr. D. wasn't too wigged out and seemed to understand....

We might pow-wow about if it's what everyone wants to do in the fall

[vablows]

Ask yourself this: If you aren't into the songs and giving 100%, then why are you playing them?

 

IMO, if you aren't giving 100% everytime you play then you are a poser.

[Vito Corleone]

 

I think the place to go when you don't "connect", is to that groove. That place barristas can't go. But we can. That takes confidence, it takes vision, it takes a certain level of skill, and it takes heart.

 

 

Agree 100%. Like I said in the OP, there's joy to find even in the simplisitic, repetitive groove of "Sexy and I Know It". Maybe if I were a better player it would be different, but the fact is I don't know that I have ever played any song perfectly from start to finish. Or maybe it's just because there's no such thing as "perfect" music. No matter how many times I play a song I can always look to improve upon my previous performance.

 

 

This isn't serving coffee. I have no interest in the service industry. I am a musician. There's power in them-thar grooves. So mine it. That's your job.

 

 

If we're live performers, we're in the entertainment business. Which isn't a "service" industry, per se, but certainly crosses over with that industry on many levels.

[JohnMCA72]

You may as well be serving them coffee.

 

& if I am, I'm going to try to do it the best I can.

[JohnMCA72]

 

Not all coffee services are the same. You can be a rude, dissinterested server just slapping down an overcooked, lukewarm cup of Joe in a styrofoam cup in front of the customer, or you can deliver a good-tasting, quality brew at the perfect temperature in a beautiful mug with a smile and a quip and asking what else they need to go along with it. Just because your focus might be all about the customer doesn't mean you can't take great pride in what you do, do it to the best of your ability, and derive great satisfaction from that and from the pleasure your customer derives from your quality service as well.

 

 

It's not even about the coffee, any more than it's about the music. It's all about the experience that customer gets. Taking pride in & getting genuine pleasure out of making people happy pays off whether you're serving coffee or playing music.

[Yer Blues]

I'm not much of a performer so I have more trouble than other people. Crowds really don't make me nervous, but I'm just not into the performing aspect of it. I have a hard time being the life of the party type of guy. Though if I'm playing with good musicians I don't have a problem playing a song I don't like.... I enjoy it because of the musicians I am playing with and locking in with them.

[Lee Knight]

 

Quote Originally Posted by Lee Knight You may as well be serving them coffee.

 

 

 

& if I am, I'm going to try to do it the best I can.

 

 

Of course I get the analogy. But I suggest you step up the analogy. I mean... really? I don't mean to corner you but, making coffee? You're going to try and do it the best you can? I said you may as well be serving coffee to point out the difference between performing music and serving coffee. Do you really want a pat on the head and a "Good job little fella!" after performing? Of course not!

 

I have nothing but total respect for my audience. But I also realize I have to bring something more than "good service". They expect it! Well... sadly they don't anymore because, frankly, there's too much passive performing. It is why I suggest going into the music when you feel any disconnect with a song. The groove. Scale back to the base of it. And start building a pulse.

[Flying_Milkman]

When I was playing bass in a cover band we played a lot of new pop, Rihanna, Britney come to mind. I had fun just rocking out and seeing folks dancing to songs they knew.

 

I had a really tough time getting into the new "rawk" that we started playing though. I left the band afterwards due to 15-20 songs that I really not only couldn't connect with, but just outright hated.

[Potts]

 

It's funny, but I rarely ever have this problem with a song. I really dislike LISTENING TO a lot of the tunes we play, but I really enjoy playing all of them. We Are Young is a perfect example. I hated it from the first time I heard it. I really dislike songs like that with the overdone anthemic crap (ie the end of Hey Jude makes me want to kill babies). All that being said, I also knew right away that we had to add it and the first time we played it, it was obvious as to why. I still immediately change the station when that tune comes on, but I actually look forward to it in the set.

 

 

Public Service Announcement...Please don't mention ":Hey Jude" in the same post as "We are Young". thank you and carry on.

[Potts]

 

Ask yourself this: If you aren't into the songs and giving 100%, then why are you playing them? IMO, if you aren't giving 100% everytime you play then you are a poser.

 

 

That's just silly. I can think of 100 reasons including : they've been requested hundreds of times before, because it's a new single from a band, because you hear the DJ play it between breaks and people go nuts, because the other band members insisted on it, because it gets people dancing....because...

 

Gag...if I had to give 100% on every song every night 4 days a week I could never do this for a living. Do I really need to push my limits on Wonderwall every gig or can I perform it great from muscle memory? I know the answer...

[jimiv]

 

That's just silly. I can think of 100 reasons including : they've been requested hundreds of times before, because it's a new single from a band, because you hear the DJ play it between breaks and people go nuts, because the other band members insisted on it, because it gets people dancing....because... Gag...if I had to give 100% on every song every night 4 days a week I could never do this for a living. Do I really need to push my limits on Wonderwall every gig or can I perform it great from muscle memory? I know the answer...

 

 

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel too. If that makes me a poser, then so be it.

[Leftcoast123]

Connecting to the music....in my world that equates to "am I performing the song with my band in a manner that does justice to OUR reputation". All the time? Not a {censored}ing chance. Has the audience noticed? No because we mind melt them at the end of the night.

[Piano Whore]

Giving 100% every song? IMO you ought to at least TRY. You may not get off on the song itself, but you can at least get off on the challenge of locking in with the band better- which is excellent practice for the songs you DO get off on. I don't think anyone can get away with playing songs they don't care much about in a half-assed, non-grooving way and then thinking when that magic song comes around, they can just flip a switch. The way you play on the first category affects the way you play the 2nd ("magic") category. Better do all of them best you possibly can.

[vablows]

I can see if you're playing a bar for nothing or free drinks or something.

But if you're being payed nicely to play a gig, especially a corporate type/wedding, then you better be giving it 100% the whole gig.

This is a very big deal to the client paying you and if you can't give 100% for a few hours then you should pack it up and go play the music that fills your soul for free at the aforementioned dive bar.

[vablows]

 

Giving 100% every song? IMO you ought to at least TRY. You may not get off on the song itself, but you can at least get off on the challenge of locking in with the band better- which is excellent practice for the songs you DO get off on. I don't think anyone can get away with playing songs they don't care much about in a half-assed, non-grooving way and then thinking when that magic song comes around, they can just flip a switch. The way you play on the first category affects the way you play the 2nd ("magic") category. Better do all of them best you possibly can.

 

 

Exactly.

[vablows]

 

That's just silly. I can think of 100 reasons including : they've been requested hundreds of times before, because it's a new single from a band, because you hear the DJ play it between breaks and people go nuts, because the other band members insisted on it, because it gets people dancing....because... Gag...if I had to give 100% on every song every night 4 days a week I could never do this for a living. Do I really need to push my limits on Wonderwall every gig or can I perform it great from muscle memory? I know the answer...

 

 

Potts, your image basically screams "I don't give 100% all the time".

I mean that in the nicest way possible because of the baseball cap and shorts, it just doesn't give off a professional vibe to me.

But you are doing this for a living and I am not, so I guess it must work but that's just my $.02

[Potts]

 

Potts, your image basically screams "I don't give 100% all the time". I mean that in the nicest way possible because of the baseball cap and shorts, it just doesn't give off a professional vibe to me. But you are doing this for a living and I am not, so I guess it must work but that's just my $.02

 

 

LOL.. that's a little trolling right there.

[Old Fart Rocker]

I find this topic interesting. I have a problem focusing with my Dance/Party band. As a guitar player, I find a lot of the songs we do repetitive and monotonous. A lot of the songs a re keyboard basede and I either have to create a part or pick up a KB part and adapt it to guitar. I guess when we're playing to an enthuseastic crowd I'm pretty engaged. But if it's a slow night I find my mind wandering sipping Pina Coladas in the Bahamas.

On the other hand, my rock band is a trio and there's nowhere to hide, so I have to be on my game. Plus, I simply enjoy that genre of music and find it easy to connect with the music.

[Vermoulian]

 

It's a great point. Maybe some study on what groove actually is might be helpful. For a lot of people. For anybody who is uncomfortable with the idea of being able to get an audience to dance with just your instrument, you probably need a brush up on groove. Really, if you're not confident in the idea of starting a song and maybe extending your one instrument's intro to 16 bars and getting the floor moving and dancing, you need to step back and work on that. Set your metronome (you have one, right?) to half the tempo of what you're trying to play. Now hear the metronome on just 2 + 4. Now feel how each note you play feels against that 2 + 4. Do that every day. For an hour. It is the funnest thing you'll ever do. Start hearing and feeling everything you do dancing around, behind, over and through that 2 + 4. At that point, no song will ever be boring. It can't be. You might be because you forgot the groove, so you go back to it. That post I wrote about um... "making love" to your audience, that's what I'm talking about. You can't "eff your mate with a kindness" if you can't dance. Learn to dance with your metronome set on the 2 + 4.

 

 

This is great advice. I've started doing this while practicing and I can already tell it's going to really improve how my bass sits in our songs.

[MartinC]

I've played a lot of stuff I didn't like, but you simply do your best. Find a way to make it interesting. dm chord? There's a thousand ways to do that on a guitar. One way may seem to sound the best, or be the way it is on the record, but you don't have to play that inversion every time. Change the patch, change the guitar, the amp setting, whatever it takes to keep you involved and tuned in. The stuff I want to play today is so hard for me to do it well that I don't have to resort to those kind of mind games these days, but there have been times I've hated a particular tune and had to find a way to get through it.